LOS ANGELES – Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets made a statement on Saturday, downing Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks 129-106 in a battle of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) conference leaders.
But the Serb was not getting carried away, saying the Nuggets have “to do something in a play-offs”.
In the last four seasons, the furthest Denver have gone was the Western Conference Finals in 2019-20, when they were beaten 4-1 by eventual champions the Los Angeles Lakers. Last season, they also fell 4-1 at the first hurdle to eventual champions, the Golden State Warriors.
Said Jokic: “It’s better to win games, but our goal is to do something in a play-offs.”
In a game touted as a potential NBA Finals preview, two-time and reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic scored 31 points, handed out 11 assists and pulled down six rebounds.
The Nuggets held East leaders Milwaukee to only 40 second-half points with the kind of dominant defensive display they have been accused of lacking this season.
Jamal Murray, who made five three-pointers and scored 26 points for Denver, said it all started on the defensive end – and not just in a third quarter in which the Nuggets outscored the Bucks 34-19.
“I thought we played great defence all game,” he said.
“We had a good start, even though they went on a run, I thought we were consistent all game with our defence and we found transition points.”
Antetokounmpo, who won MVP honours for two straight years before Jokic, scored 31 points, but just seven in the second half.
He was a force at the rim before the interval, finishing with five dunks, although the dunk that reverberated through Ball Arena was 36-year-old Nuggets veteran Jeff Green’s slam over Antetokounmpo to open the fourth quarter.
Said Jokic: “It was an amazing dunk. I didn’t think he was going to do it. He almost fell down, so it was a really nice dunk.”
The Bucks’ frustration was evident as the Nuggets pulled away in the third, with Bobby Portis and Brook Lopez both receiving technical fouls.
Antetokounmpo was whistled for a technical foul midway through the fourth quarter.
“It was a night where we were grumpy, and it happens... They just had us in the second half,” said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer, whose team were coming off a lopsided victory in Salt Lake City.
Khris Middleton, Grayson Allen and Lopez scored 13 each, and Portis added 11 points for the Bucks (53-21).
Said Middleton: “We still got to be better, there’s no excuses about that.
“But I’m sure for a lot of fans, a lot of people out there, they’d love to see healthy teams, or not coming off back-to-backs.”
Michael Porter Jr scored 19 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown had 11 points each for the Nuggets (50-24). Murray had four three-pointers and 20 points, and Jokic scored 17 points in the first half for Denver, who trailed 66-63 at the break.
Allen made two free throws to stretch Milwaukee’s lead to 74-69 early in the third quarter but the Nuggets came back.
Jokic made his first three-pointer of the night to put Denver in front by one.
Porter hit a cutting lay-up, and a take foul and technical on Portis resulted in two free throws by the Nuggets. Brown then hit a corner three to give Denver an 84-76 lead.
Two free throws from Jokic late in the third capped a 16-4 run that put the Nuggets ahead 90-80. Jeff Green hit a corner three with 4.9 seconds left to make it 97-85 heading into the fourth quarter.
Green’s dunk over Antetokounmpo and Zeke Nnaji’s lay-up pushed the lead to 15.
The Bucks went 4min 10sec without a point as the Nuggets built a 20-point lead.
Antetokounmpo was hit with a technical foul with 6:41 left – Milwaukee’s fourth of the game – and went to the bench for the rest of the night with 5:54 remaining and Denver closed it out.
In the other big game on Saturday, Devin Booker scored 29 points as hosts Phoenix Suns pulled out of a three-game skid with a 125-105 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers.
T.J. Warren, Terrence Ross and Cameron Payne combined for 45 points off the bench for the Suns.
The 76ers (49-25) got a game-high 37 points from Tyrese Maxey, while Most Valuable Player candidate Joel Embiid added 28 points and 10 rebounds.
Phoenix (39-35) shot 50.5 per cent from the floor, going on a 13-3 run early in the fourth quarter that effectively put the game away.
AFP, REUTERS
